It is both a curse and a blessing to experience the vanity of life. We may agree to the curse, but where does the blessing come from? As a shepherd boy turned into a king, David lived a legendary life with no vanity at all. There were people hunting for his life both before and after his enthronement. He was kept busy all the way to his deathbed, and never had the leisure of experiencing the emptiness of life. On the other hand, his son Solomon enjoyed much more blessings. He was raised as a prince and sent directly to the throne of his father. He enjoyed peace during his reign and was exempt from bloodshed and wars. Not only was he full of wisdom and knowledge, but of silver and gold too. His luxurious lifestyle became such a legend. If you are given of the choice between Solomon’s life and David’s life, which one do you want to live? I bet most people would choose to live after Solomon’s life. But it is this super blessed Solomon, the son of David, king in Jerusalem (Eccl. 1:1 ESV) who wrote the Ecclesiastes, in which he detailed all kinds of vanities he experienced under the sun.
It is certainly no pleasure in experiencing vanities of life, yet not all people are qualified to this pain either. You must first sacrifice your life for certain cause. The moment you discovered that the cause you served on your altar was in fact an illusion, you would experience vanity of vanities. Small vanities are very common. For example, after lining up for two hours, you are called to the window, then you discover that you have been standing in the wrong line all the time. The frustration you would experience is but a small vanity. If you have lined up for many decades, or even a lifetime, in the end you discover that you are in the wrong line. That is vanity. Anyone who is too lazy in life to stand in line, would never experience vanity like that. For people without a purpose in life, would never suffer the loss of it. Even for those who do live a purpose driven life and tirelessly climb towards the summit, not everyone would wake up in time and realize the mountain they have been climbing is but a mountain of garbage. Before breathing their last, they would never have the chance of realizing they were marching in the wrong line the whole time. If you have known it before death, you are a prophet indeed. Solomon was such a prophet, Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? (Eccl. 1:2-3 ESV)
Those who come to such realization, who find out they are standing in the wrong line of life, would have various reactions. A typical Chinese may react like Jia Baoyu, who saw through this vanity of life and seek comfort in Buddhism. Others may react with various kinds of escapism or total despair. The former reaction is a line-switching strategy. They ditch the line of secular pursuit and line up for a spiritual purpose instead. The latter reaction is one of quitting. They don’t want to stand in line anymore. Those who do well may devote the rest of their lives to a personal cause, such as a hobby and others simply choose to waste away their time in idling. The worst would dishearten to a point losing the desire to live. If these are the consequences of such enlightenment, would it be better off to remain in ignorance? Wouldn’t it be better to stand in a line enthusiastically without realizing it is a wrong line? If death is the end of all, I would agree to leave the dying men alone. But if death is not the end of all, this would be a costly self-deception. That is why Solomon wrote the Ecclesiastes, to wake people up who standing at the wrong line, so that they may have time to switch line.
For those who thus find out that they are in the wrong line, it is indeed a painful discovery. Yet this birth pain is necessary. Jesus said, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matt. 5:4 ESV) Who are these who mourn? In these eight blessings Jesus proclaimed, He used simple yet strong contrasts to overturn some common sense of the world. These mourners are those who have fallen into total despair in this world. They mourn because no one in this world can ever comfort them. These are the people who come to realize that they are at the wrong line at the checkout window. They mourn because all that they have in this life are vanity of vanities. Jesus said they are blessed, because now they can form a new line after Him. What they are going to receive would be so great, that they would not remember their former pain and vanities. Solomon, the son of David, have revealed the vanity of vanities to the world. A few hundred years later, Gautama Buddha came up with an alternative line for those who see through the vanity of this world, but the true lifeline that would bring joy to the despair and the true comfort comes from the other Son of David: Jesus Christ.
Prayer: O Lord! Thank you for saving us from the vanity of this world! You let us pass through the Valley of weeping and bring us to a place of springs!
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